Augustus Toplady (1740-1778) is a strange-sounding name who is best known for the hymn “Rock of Ages.” He was embroiled in a nasty controversy with John Wesley over predestination, a hot topic of debate in eighteenth century England. John Wesley espoused Arminianism, as articulated by the Dutch theologian, Jacobus Arminius. Jacob placed the emphasis on people choosing Christ since human responsibility is the deciding factor in matters related to salvation. Augustus embraced Calvinism, as articulated by the French theologian John Calvin, who stressed God’s choosing and insisted God’s sovereignty was paramount in salvation.
Augustus and John went public with their predestination dispute. It degenerated into a pamphlet-writing war. Augustus would fire off a leaflet in favor of Calvinism and John would counter it with a written rebuttal. Their exchange became way too personal and divisive. They should have carried on the debate in private and stuck to matters of common agreement in the public arena. We see a similar dynamic playing out in divisions among Christians today on any number of contentious social issues. We retreat to our respective social media outlets and launch verbal grenades at each other. The cause of Christ does not prosper in such rancor.
I close with a quote from another guy with a strange-sounding name, Rupertus Meldenius, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Augustus composed a prayer that he and John could have prayed together: